Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus obtains the moving image identification information of a moving image, the time at which a specifying operation was performed, and a position specified on a display unit. When an object was specified, the information processing apparatus further obtains object information. The information processing apparatus obtains, from storage means, object information corresponding to all of the following: the obtained moving image identification information; a time being within a predetermined period of time ending at the obtained time; and a position being within a predetermined distance from the obtained position. The information processing apparatus causes information about an object indicated by the obtained object information to be presented to a user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to techniques for providing informationabout an object contained in an image.

BACKGROUND ART

For example, Non-Patent Literature 1 discloses a photo search techniquefor searching items that look similar to an object contained in aphotograph taken with a camera of a terminal device and for displayinginformation about the similar items on the terminal device.

CITATION LIST Non-Patent Literature

Non-Patent Literature 1: Amazon.com Inc., “Amazon.com Help About theAmazon Price Check App”, [online], [retrieved on Jun. 5, 2013], Internet<URL: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200777320>

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

When a plurality of objects appear in an image, a user has to specify anobject whose information is to be provided. For some moving images, anobject that once appeared on a screen may disappear from the screen withtime. Thus, when a user performs an operation to specify an object, theobject may have already disappeared. In this case, no information aboutthe object, which the user had intended to specify, can be provided. Insuch a case, if the user was allowed to perform, for example, a rewindoperation, the user could cause the object that has disappeared toappear again and then specify the object. However, some moving images,for example, broadcast on TV or over the Internet are unavailable forsuch a rewind operation.

In view of the above point, it is an object of the present invention toprovide an information processing apparatus, an information processingmethod, and an information processing program that can provideinformation about an object even after the object has disappeared from ascreen in a moving image unavailable for an operation to move itsplayback position backward in time.

Solution to Problem

To solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 is aninformation processing apparatus that includes operation informationobtaining means, object information obtaining means, and presentationcontrol means. The operation information obtaining means obtains movingimage identification information identifying a moving image unavailablefor an operation to move its playback position backward in time, a timeat which a specifying operation to specify a position on a display unitwas performed to specify an object contained in the moving imagedisplayed on the display unit, and a position specified on the displayunit, and further obtains object information indicating the object whenthe object was specified by the specifying operation. Storage meansstores the moving image identification information, the time, theposition, and the object information in association with each other foreach specifying operation performed by a plurality of users. The objectinformation obtaining means obtains, from the storage means, the objectinformation corresponding to all of the following: the moving imageidentification information obtained by the operation informationobtaining means; a time being within a predetermined period of timestarting backward from the time obtained by the operation informationobtaining means; and a position being within a predetermined distancefrom the position obtained by the operation information obtaining means.The presentation control means causes information about an objectindicated by the object information obtained by at least one of theoperation information obtaining means and the object informationobtaining means to be presented to a user who performed the specifyingoperation.

According to this invention, when someone specified an object within thea predetermined period of time ending at time at which a user performeda specifying operation and the position on the display unit at which theobject was specified by the someone is within the predetermined distancefrom the position specified by the user, information about the object ispresented. Thus, information about an object can be provided even afterthe object has disappeared from a screen.

The invention according to claim 2 is the information processingapparatus according to claim 1 in which the operation informationobtaining means further obtains user identification informationidentifying the user who performed the specifying operation, and thestorage means stores the moving image identification information, thetime, the position, the object information, and the user identificationinformation in association with each other. The information processingapparatus further includes user object information obtaining means andtendency identifying means. The user object information obtaining meansobtains, from the storage means, the object information corresponding tothe user identification information obtained by the operationinformation obtaining means. The tendency identifying means identifieswhat object tends to be specified, based on the object informationobtained by the user object information obtaining means. Thepresentation control means controls presentation of information about anobject, based on a tendency identified by the tendency identifyingmeans.

According to this invention, the presentation of information about anobject is controlled based on what object a user tends to specify. Thus,information about an object that interests a user can be provided.

The invention according to claim 3 is the information processingapparatus according to claim 2 in which the presentation control meanscauses information about an object whose degree of match with thetendency identified by the tendency identifying means is less than apredetermined value not to be presented.

This invention can provide only information about an object that islikely to interest a user.

The invention according to claim 4 is the information processingapparatus according to claim 2 or 3 in which the presentation controlmeans causes information about objects to be presented in descendingorder of degree of match with the tendency identified by the tendencyidentifying means.

This invention can preferentially provide information about an objectthat is likely to interest a user.

The invention according to claim 5 is the information processingapparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in which, when theoperation information obtaining means and the object informationobtaining means each obtain the object information, the presentationcontrol means causes information about an object identified by any oneof a plurality of obtained pieces of the object information to bepresented. If the presented information has been presented for less thana predetermined time, the presentation control means causes informationabout an object identified by another one of the obtained pieces ofobject information to be presented.

According to this invention, when there are an object specified by auser and an object specified by someone within the period of time fromthe predetermined before to the time at which the user performed thespecifying operation, information about either one of these objects ispresented. If the presentation of the information ends before thepredetermined time has elapsed since then, information about the otheris presented. Thus, when information about an object that a userintended to specify is presented first, information about an object thatthe user did not intend to specify can be prevented from beingpresented.

The invention according to claim 6 is the information processingapparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 further includingsending means. The sending means sends, to a terminal device thatdisplays the moving image, information for increasing the visibility, onthe display unit, of an object indicated by the object informationobtained by the operation information obtaining means.

According to this invention, when someone specifies an object, thevisibility of the specified object is increased on the display screen ofthe moving image on the terminal device. This can make the user morelikely to notice the object being shown in the moving image.Accordingly, the user can more easily specify the object.

The invention according to claim 7 is the information processingapparatus according to claim 6 further including attribute identifyingmeans and identification information obtaining means. The attributeidentifying means identifies an attribute of the object indicated by theobject information obtained by the operation information obtainingmeans. The storage means stores the moving image identificationinformation, the time, the position, the object information, and useridentification information identifying the user who performed thespecifying operation in association with each other. The identificationinformation obtaining means obtains, from the storage means, the useridentification information corresponding to the object informationindicating an object having the attribute identified by the attributeidentifying means. The sending means sends the information forincreasing the visibility to a terminal device used by a user identifiedby the user identification information obtained by the identificationinformation obtaining means.

According to this invention, when someone specifies an object, theobject specified by the someone becomes more visible on a terminaldevice used by a user who has specified an object having the sameattribute as the specified object before. Thus, only an object that islikely to interest a user can become more visible.

The invention according to claim 8 is the information processingapparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 in which the operationinformation obtaining means further obtains method informationindicating how the specifying operation was performed, and the objectinformation obtaining means determines the length of the period of time,based on the method information obtained by the operation informationobtaining means.

According to this invention, an operation method can adjust how long togo backward from the time at which the specifying operation wasperformed. This can increase the probability that an object that theuser intended to specify can be identified correctly.

The invention according to claim 9 is an information processing methodperformed by a computer. The method includes an operation informationobtaining step, an object information obtaining step, and a presentationcontrol step. In the operation information obtaining step, moving imageidentification information identifying a moving image unavailable for anoperation to move its playback position backward in time, a time atwhich a specifying operation to specify a position on a display unit wasperformed to specify an object contained in the moving image displayedon the display unit, and a position specified on the display unit areobtained. When the object was specified by the specifying operation,object information indicating the object is further obtained. In theobject information obtaining step, the object information correspondingto all of the following: the moving image identification informationobtained in the operation information obtaining step; a time beingwithin a predetermined period of time starting backward from the timeobtained in the operation information obtaining step; and a positionbeing within a predetermined distance from the position obtained in theoperation information obtaining step is obtained from storage means forstoring the moving image identification information, the time, theposition, and the object information in association with each other foreach specifying operation performed by a plurality of users. In thepresentation control step, information about an object indicated by theobject information obtained in at least one of the operation informationobtaining step and the object information obtaining step is presented toa user who performed the specifying operation.

The invention according to claim 10 is a information processing programthat causes a computer to execute operation information obtaining means,object information obtaining means, and presentation control means. Theoperation information obtaining means obtains moving imageidentification information identifying a moving image unavailable for anoperation to move its playback position backward in time, a time atwhich a specifying operation to specify a position on a display unit wasperformed to specify an object contained in the moving image displayedon the display unit, and a position specified on the display unit, andfor further obtaining object information indicating the object when theobject was specified by the specifying operation. The object informationobtaining means obtains, from storage means for storing the moving imageidentification information, the time, the position, and the objectinformation in association with each other for each specifying operationperformed by a plurality of users, the object information correspondingto all of the following: the moving image identification informationobtained by the operation information obtaining means; a time beingwithin a predetermined period of time starting backward from the timeobtained by the operation information obtaining means; and a positionbeing within a predetermined distance from the position obtained by theoperation information obtaining means. The presentation control meansfor causing information about an object indicated by the objectinformation obtained by at least one of the operation informationobtaining means and the object information obtaining means to bepresented to a user who performed the specifying operation.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, when a first user, who is differentfrom a second user, specified an object within the predetermined periodof time ending at the time before to the time at which the second userperformed a specifying operation and the position on the display unit atwhich the object was specified by the first user is within thepredetermined distance from the position specified by the second user,information about the object is presented. Thus, information about anobject can be provided even after the object has disappeared from ascreen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example configuration of aninformation processing system S according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of how information isprovided when a user U1 specifies an object and diagrams showing anexample of how information is provided when a user U2 fails to specifyan object.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example display of a search resultsscreen.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing another example of how informationis provided when a user specifies an object.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an example display screen of amoving image that displays information for increasing the visibility ofan object.

FIG. 5C is a diagram showing an example display of a guidance MSG.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram schematically showing an exampleconfiguration of a moving image distribution server 1 according to anembodiment.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing example functional blocks of an onlinemarketplace server 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing example contents stored in a specifyingoperation information DB 12 a.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing example contents stored in a search resultsDB 12 b.

FIG. 7C is a diagram showing example contents stored in a viewinghistory DB 12 c.

FIG. 7D is a diagram showing example contents stored in a genreinformation DB 2 a.

FIG. 7E is a diagram showing example contents stored in an iteminformation DB 2 b.

FIG. 7F is a diagram showing example contents stored in an operationhistory DB 2 c.

FIG. 7G is a diagram showing example contents stored in a memberinformation DB 3 a.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example process of a specifyingoperation information reception process in a system controller 14 of themoving image distribution server 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example process of a search resultsprovision process in the system controller 14 of the moving imagedistribution server 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing example contents of a display list.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example process of a next searchresults provision process in the system controller 14 of the movingimage distribution server 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example process of the search resultsprovision process in the system controller 14 of the moving imagedistribution server 1 according to an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes embodiments of the present invention in detailwith reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below areembodiments in which the present invention is applied to an informationprocessing system.

1. FIRST EMBODIMENT 1-1. Configuration and Functional Overview ofInformation Processing System

First, a configuration of an information processing system S accordingto this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 isa diagram schematically showing an example configuration of theinformation processing system S according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system S includes amoving image distribution server 1, an online marketplace server 2, amember information management server 3, and a plurality of userterminals 4. The moving image distribution server 1 and the onlinemarketplace server 2 can exchange data with each user terminal 4 over anetwork NW using communication protocols, such as TCP/IP. The network NWincludes, for example, the Internet, a dedicated communication line(e.g., community antenna television (CATV) line), a mobile communicationnetwork (including base stations), and a gateway. The moving imagedistribution server 1, the online marketplace server 2, and the memberinformation management server 3 can exchange data with each other over anetwork NL. The network NL is, for example, a local area network (LAN).

The moving image distribution server 1, the online marketplace server 2,and the member information management server 3 are each a server devicebelonging to the domain of a comprehensive site for providingcomprehensive Internet services. The comprehensive site is a website forproviding various services to users over a network.

The moving image distribution server 1 is a server device that performsvarious processes for a moving image site. The moving image distributionserver 1 is an example of an information processing apparatus accordingto the present invention. The moving image distribution server 1simultaneously distributes a moving image to a plurality of userterminals 4. For example, a moving image is broadcast. For example, themoving image distribution server 1 may stream a moving image live. Forexample, the moving image distribution server 1 may relay a moving imagetaken with a video camera owned by a broadcasting station or a user tothe user terminals 4. This enables a plurality of users to watch thesame moving image at the same time. In this case, the moving imagedistribution server 1 does not prestore the moving image to bedistributed. The moving image distribution server 1 may prestore amoving image and simultaneously distribute the prestored moving image toa plurality of user terminals 4. Also in this case, for example, themoving image distribution server 1 simultaneously broadcasts the movingimage to the plurality of user terminals 4. Thus, user are not allowedto perform any operation, such as a rewind operation or a skipoperation, to move the playback position of a moving image on the userterminals 4.

The online marketplace server 2 is a server device that performs variousprocesses for an online marketplace in which items can be purchased.Users can purchase any desired item from any desired store in the onlinemarketplace. For example, the online marketplace server 2 sends webpages of the online marketplace and performs processes for item searchesand purchases in response to requests from the user terminals 4. Theonline marketplace server 2 includes a genre information DB 2 a, an iteminformation DB 2 b, and other databases. “DB” is an abbreviation fordatabase. The genre information DB 2 a stores genre information abouteach item genre. The item information DB 2 b stores item informationabout each item being sold in the online marketplace. The moving imagedistribution server 1 accesses the genre information DB 2 a, the iteminformation DB 2 b, and other databases via the online marketplaceserver 2.

The member information management server 3 is a server device thatmanages information about each user who has signed up for thecomprehensive site as member information. The member informationmanagement server 3 includes a member information DB 3 a. The memberinformation DB 3 a stores the member information of each user. Themoving image distribution server 1 and the online marketplace server 2each access the member information DB 3 a via the member informationmanagement server 3.

The user terminal 4 is a terminal device of a user who uses variouswebsites. The user terminal 4 accesses a server device, such as themoving image distribution server 1 or the online marketplace server 2,in response to an operation by a user. The user terminal 4 receives, forexample, a web page and a moving image from the server device and thendisplays them. The user terminal 4 has software, such as a browser andan e-mail client, installed on it. The user terminal 4 may display themoving image, for example, with an add-on program for the browser orwith a predetermined moving image player program. For example, apersonal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portableinformation terminal such as a smartphone, or a mobile phone is used asthe user terminal 4.

1-2. Provision of Information about Object Being Shown in Moving Image

A moving image distributed from the moving image distribution server 1shows various objects shot with, for example, a video camera. Examplesof the objects include non-living objects and living objects, such ashuman beings. A user, who is watching a moving image with the userterminal 4, can perform an operation to specify an object displayed onthe screen. This operation is referred to as an object specifyingoperation. Examples of the object specifying operation include anoperation to tap a touch screen with a finger, a stylus pen, or the likeat the position where an object is being displayed, and an operation tomove a pointer with a mouse, cursor keys, or the like and press a buttonwith the pointer positioned over an, object being displayed on thescreen. The moving image distribution server 1 provides informationabout the specified object. This enables the user to obtain, forexample, information about an object that interests the user.Specifically, the user terminal 4 recognizes the object specified by theuser from an image. For example, the user terminal 4 may recognize thespecified object by a known image recognition technique. Alternatively,the user terminal 4 may request a predetermined server device torecognize the object. The user terminal 4 obtains object information byrecognizing the object. The object information is information indicatingthe object. For example, the object information may be a keywordindicating the name of the object or may be identification informationindicating an item genre to which the object belongs. Subsequently, theuser terminal 4 sends specifying operation information including theobject information to the moving image distribution server 1. Thespecifying operation information is information about the objectspecifying operation. For example, the user terminal 4 may send thespecifying operation information by the moving image player program orby a predetermined program executed together with the moving imageplayer program. Based on the object information, the moving imagedistribution server 1 searches the online marketplace for items relatedto the specified object. Then, the moving image distribution server 1provides a list of found items.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of how information isprovided when a user U1 specifies an object. FIG. 2A is an exampledisplay screen of a moving image. As shown in FIG. 2A, the moving imageon the screen is showing a smartphone OB1. Here, the user U1 moves amouse pointer MP and specifies the smartphone OB1, for example, byoperating a mouse. After the playback of the moving image ends, themoving image distribution server 1 searches the online marketplace forsmartphones as items. Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, the results of thesearch for smartphones are displayed on the screen of the user terminal4 used by the user U1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example display ofa search results screen. The search results screen is an example ofinformation about an object of the present invention. The search resultsscreen may be, for example, a web page. The search results screendisplays, for example, a search results area 110 and a button 120. Inthe search results area 110, a list of found items is displayed. Forexample, for each of the items, the item's name, image, price, and thename of the store that sells the item are displayed. If a user selectsany one of the items from the search results area 110, an item page isdisplayed on the screen of the user terminal 4. The item page is a pagethat displays information about the selected item. The informationdisplayed on the item page is more detailed than the informationdisplayed on the search results page. A purchase operation on the itempage enables the user to purchase the item corresponding to the itempage. When the user selects the button 120, the search results screenbeing displayed is cleared from the screen. If the user selects aplurality of objects during playback of the moving image, another searchresults screen is displayed on the screen when the button 120 isselected. For example, assume that the user specifies a smartphone and apersonal computer. Then, a search results screen corresponding to thesmartphone is displayed first. When the button 120 is selected, thesearch results screen corresponding to the smartphone is cleared, andthen a search results screen corresponds to the personal computer isdisplayed.

During playback of a moving image, the scene may sometimes change. Alsowhile a moving image is being taken, some objects move and the shootingangle changes. Thus, various objects appear on and disappear from thescreen during playback of a moving image. Consequently, when a userperforms an operation to specify an object on the display screen of amoving image, the object may have already disappeared from the screen.In this case, the user fails to view information about the object.

If the user was allowed to move the playback position of the movingimage backward, for example, through a rewind operation or a skipoperation, the user could cause the object that has disappeared toappear again and thus could specify the object. The playback position isa time position in the moving image, of each of the frame imagesconstituting the moving image. The playback position is indicated by thetime that has elapsed since the moving image started to be played back.However, broadcasting is a distribution mode in which the same frameimage is simultaneously distributed to a plurality of user terminals 4on the assumption that a plurality of users watch the same image at thesame time. Thus, users are not allowed to perform any operation to movethe playback position backward.

For this reason, the moving image distribution server 1 identifies anobject that had been displayed on the screen within a predeterminedretrospective period of time ending at the time at which an objectspecifying operation was performed and that had been displayed within apredetermined distance from the position specified by a user on thescreen. The time at which the specifying operation was performed may be,for example, the current playback position or the current time. Theposition specified by the user is expressed, for example, in coordinateson the screen. The time at which the specifying operation was performedis referred to as a specifying time. The position that was specified isreferred to as a specified position.

To identify objects, the moving image distribution server 1 storesspecifying operation information sent from each user terminal 4. Asdescribed above, every time a user performs an object specifyingoperation, the user terminal 4 sends specifying operation information tothe moving image distribution server 1. The specifying operationinformation includes, for example, a moving image ID, a user ID, aspecifying time, a specified position, and object information. Themoving image ID is identification information of a moving image beingplayed back. The moving image ID is an example of moving imageidentification information of the present invention. The user ID isidentification information of the user who performed the objectspecifying operation. The user ID is an example of user identificationinformation of the present. invention. From the specifying operationinformation, the moving image distribution server 1 can identify whenand where what object was displayed. The moving image distributionserver 1 need not perform any image recognition process on moving imagesto identify objects. For live streaming in particular, image recognitionneeds to be performed during or after relay of a moving image. However,the moving image distribution server 1 need not perform such a process.

FIGS. 2C to 2E are diagrams showing an example of how information isprovided when a user U2 fails to specify an object. Assume that theusers U1 and U2 are simultaneously watching the same moving image onmutually different user terminals 4. FIGS. 2C and 2D are each an exampledisplay screen of the moving image. As shown in FIG. 2C, the same imageas that shown in FIG. 2A is being displayed on the user terminal 4 usedby the user U2. That is, the smartphone OB1 is being displayed on thescreen. Here, the user U2 performs an operation to specify thesmartphone OB1. However, when the user U2 actually performs an objectspecifying operation, the scene has already been changed as shown inFIG. 2D. Consequently, the smartphone OB1 is no longer displayed at theposition specified by the user. In this case, the user terminal 4 usedby the user U2 sends specifying operation information including noobject information. Based on the specifying operation informationreceived from the user terminal 4 used by the user U2 and the storedspecifying operation information, the moving image distribution server 1identifies an object that had been displayed within the retrospectiveperiod of time from the predetermined before to the specifying time andwithin the predetermined distance from the specified position. Themoving image distribution server 1 has previously received specifyingoperation information from the user terminal 4 used by the user U1.Thus, the moving image distribution server 1 obtains object informationindicating a smartphone from the specifying operation information.Consequently, as shown in FIG. 2E, search results for a smartphone aredisplayed on the screen of the user terminal 4 used by the user U2.

The user U2 can select anyone smartphone from among the search resultsto cause the corresponding item page to be displayed and purchase thesmartphone. Thus, the user U1 specifies the smartphone OB1, and thistriggers the user U2 to purchase the item. That is, the user U1 providesan opportunity for transaction of the item. For this reason, when a userviews search results for an object that another person specified withinthe predetermined retrospective period of time ending at the time atwhich the user performed an object specifying operation and thenpurchases an item, the information processing system S may give rewardto the user who specified the object. This system is a form of anaffiliate program. For example, the online marketplace server 1 mayperform a process for giving the reward. The reward may be, for example,points that can be used to purchase items in the online marketplace,money, or items.

Here, object information indicating the object actually specified by theuser is referred to as first object information. Object informationindicating the object identified by the moving image distribution server1 is referred to as second object information.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing another example of how informationis provided when a user specifies an object. FIGS. 4A and 4B are each anexample display screen of a moving image. As shown in FIG. 4A, thesmartphone OB1 is being displayed on the screen. Assume that, within theretrospective period of time after that, as shown in FIG. 4B, a personalcomputer OB2 is displayed at the position where the smartphone OB1 hasbeen displayed. Here, assume that the user specifies the personalcomputer OB2. Seemingly, the personal computer OB2 is specified. In thiscase, however, the user may have intended to specify the personalcomputer OB2, or the user may have intended to specify the smartphoneOB1.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 4C, the moving image distribution server 1 mayprovide both a search results screen for the specified object and asearch results screen for the identified object. Alternatively, forexample, the moving image distribution server 1 may cause one of thesearch results screens to be displayed first, and then cause the othersearch results screen to be displayed when the button 120 is selected.In this case, the moving image distribution server 1 may cause eitherone of the search results screens to be displayed first. Alternatively,the moving image distribution server 1 may cause both of the searchresults to be displayed together.

Alternatively, the moving image distribution server 1 may cause eitherone of the search results screens to be displayed. In this case, themoving image distribution server 1 may cause either the search resultsscreen for the specified object or the search results screen for theidentified object to be displayed. Then, if the button 120 is selectedbefore a predetermined time has elapsed since one search results screenwas displayed, the moving image distribution server 1 may cause theother search results screen to be displayed. On the other hand, if thebutton 120 is selected after the predetermined time has elapsed, themoving image distribution server 1 need not cause the other searchresults screen to be displayed. The reason is that the user probably didnot intend to specify the object corresponding to the search resultsscreen that the user viewed for a short time. That is, the user probablyintended to specify the object corresponding to the search resultsscreen to be displayed later. When a search results screen for an objectthat the user did not intend to specify is being displayed, the searchresults screen is unnecessary to the user. Thus, the user clears thesearch results screen in a relatively short time. On the other hand,when a search results screen for an object that the user intended tospecify is being displayed, the user selects an item referring to thesearch results screen. Accordingly, the user spends more time viewingthe search results screen.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an example display screen of amoving image that displays information for increasing the visibility ofan object. While watching a moving image, a user may sometimes beunaware of some objects being displayed on the screen. Consequently, theuser may fail to specify an object that interests the user. Thus, themoving image distribution server 1 may cause visibility-increasinginformation to be displayed on the display screen of the moving image.The visibility-increasing information is information for increasing thevisibility of an object specified by any user. As shown in FIG. 5A,assume that a user specifies the smartphone OB1 while the smartphone OB1is being displayed on the screen. Then, visibility-increasinginformation FR is displayed on the display screen of the moving imagebeing played back by each user's user terminal 4. Thevisibility-increasing information FR is displayed at the same positionthat the user specified on the screen. This makes the smartphone OB1more likely to be noticed. The visibility-increasing information FR isdisplayed for a predetermined duration of time after the objectspecifying operation was performed. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5B, evenafter the smartphone OB1 disappears from the screen, thevisibility-increasing information FR may remain displayed. This enableusers to notice the position where the smartphone OB1 had beendisplayed. Thus, users can correctly specify the position where thesmartphone OB1 had been displayed.

For example, the moving image distribution server 1 may cause all of theuser terminals 4 playing back the same moving image as the moving imageon which the object specifying operation was performed to display thevisibility-increasing information FR. Alternatively, the moving imagedistribution server 1 may determine whether to display thevisibility-increasing information FR, based on what object tends to bespecified. For example, the moving image distribution server 1 may causea first user's user terminal 4 to display the visibility-increasinginformation FR only when another second user specifies an object havingthe same attribute as any of the objects that the first user hasspecified before. Examples of the attribute include genre to whichobjects belong, price, specification, functions, performance, capacity,size, and weight. This can make a user more likely to notice an objectthat probably interests the user and also can prevent an object that isunlikely to interest the user from becoming more visible and obtrusiveto the user. The moving image distribution server 1 may or may not causethe user terminal 4 used by the user who actually specified the objectto display the visibility-increasing information FR for the specifiedobject.

A plurality of users may specify the same object at the same time. Inthis case, for example, for each object specifying operation, the movingimage distribution server 1 may cause the correspondingvisibility-increasing information FR to be displayed. For a plurality ofobject specifying operations whose specified position is within apredetermined range, the moving image distribution server 1 may causeone piece of visibility-increasing information FR to be displayed. Inthis case, the moving image distribution server 1 may keep thevisibility-increasing information FR displayed for a predeterminedduration of time after the last object specifying operation wasperformed.

In the example of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the visibility-increasing informationFR is a circular frame. However, the visibility-increasing informationFR may be, for example, a graphic with a shape different from a circularshape.

The retrospective period of time used for the moving image distributionserver 1 to identify an object, for example, may be preset.Alternatively, the moving image distribution server 1 may determine theretrospective period of time variably depending on how a user performedan object specifying operation. For example, the longer the user pressesa mouse button or a touch screen to specify an object, the longer theretrospective period of time may be determined to be. Alternatively, forexample, the retrospective period of time may be adjusted by the userpressing the mouse button or the touch screen to specify the object andthen moving a mouse pointer or the user's finger in a predetermineddirection or in an arbitrary direction. In this case, for example, thelonger the moving distance is, the longer the retrospective period oftime may be determined to be. The specifying operation informationfurther includes operation method information. The operation methodinformation indicates how the object specifying operation was performed.For example, the operation method information may indicate how long themouse button or the touch screen was pressed or how far the mousepointer or the finger was moved. The moving image distribution server 1may cause the user terminal 4 to display a guidance while the user isperforming the object specifying operation. This guidance is informationexplaining an operation method for adjusting the retrospective period oftime. For example, as shown in FIG. 5C, a guidance MSG is displayed onthe display screen of the moving image. The guidance MSG may be, forexample, the message “The longer you press and hold here, the furtheryou can go back in time and specify an object”. The guidance may bedisplayed outside the display screen of the moving image.

1-3. Configuration of Each Server Device

The following describes a configuration of each server device withreference to FIGS. 6A to 7G.

1-3-1. Configuration of Moving Image Distribution Server

FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing an example configurationof the moving image distribution server 1 according to this embodiment.As shown in FIG. 6, the moving image distribution server 1 includes acommunication unit 11, a storage unit 12, an input/output interface 13,and a system controller 14. The system controller 14 and theinput/output interface 13 are connected via a system bus 15.

The communication unit 11 connects to the networks NW and NL, andcontrols the state of communications with, for example, other serverdevices and the user terminals 4.

The storage unit 12 includes, for example, hard disk drives. The storageunit 12 is an example of storage means of the present invention. In thisstorage unit 12, a specifying operation information DB 12 a, a searchresults DB 12 b, a viewing history DB 12 c, and other databases arecreated.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing example contents stored in the specifyingoperation information DB 12 a. The specifying operation information DB12 a stores specifying operation information sent from the user terminal4 as specifying information. Specifically, information the specifyingoperation information DB 12 a stores a moving image ID, a user ID, aspecifying time, a specified position, operation method information,first object information, second object information, an object-providinguser ID, and other information in association with each other. When thespecifying operation information that the moving image distributionserver 1 received from the user terminal 4 is stored in the specifyingoperation information DB 12 a, for example, the second objectinformation and the object-providing user ID are added to the specifyingoperation information as needed. The first object information is theobject information included in the specifying operation informationreceived by the moving image distribution server 1. The second objectinformation indicates an object that had been displayed within theretrospective period of time ending at the specifying time and withinthe predetermined distance from the specified position. Theobject-providing user ID is identification information of the user whoactually specified the object indicated by the second objectinformation. The object-providing user ID is information required toidentify which user reward is given to.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing example contents stored in the searchresults DB 12 b. The search results DB 12 b stores information aboutsearch results for items related to objects specified by users.Specifically, every time a search is performed, a moving image ID,object information, search results information, and other informationare stored in the search results DB 12 b. The moving image ID indicatesa moving image containing an object that was specified. The objectinformation indicates the specified object. The search resultsinformation is information about found items. The search resultsinformation is also information used for the user terminal 4 to displaya search results screen. For example, the search results screen may bewritten in hypertext markup language (HTML), extensible markup language(XML), or other languages.

FIG. 7C is a diagram showing example contents stored in the viewinghistory DB 12 c. The viewing history DB 12 c stores viewing logs ofsearch results screens. Specifically, every time a search results screenis viewed, for example, a user ID, a viewed date and time, a movingimage ID, object information, and one or more item IDs are stored inassociation with each other in the viewing history DB 12 c. The user IDindicates the user who viewed the search results screen. The viewed dateand time indicates the date and time at which the search results screenwas viewed. The combination of the moving image ID and the objectinformation corresponds to the viewed search results screen. The itemID(s) are piece(s) of identification information indicating item(s)whose information was actually displayed, in the search results screen.While the search results screen is being displayed, the user terminal 4sends the user ID, the moving image ID, the object information, the itemID(s), and other information to the moving image distribution server 1as needed. The moving image distribution server 1 stores a viewing logbased on the received information.

The following describes other information stored in the storage unit 12.The storage unit 12 stores various data, such as HTML documents, XMLdocuments, image data, text data, and electronic documents, fordisplaying web pages. The storage unit 12 also stores various settingvalues.

The storage unit 12 also stores various programs, such as an operatingsystem, a streaming server program, a World Wide Web (WWW) serverprogram, a database management system (DBMS), and an object specifyingmanagement program. The object specifying management program is aprogram for performing processes, for example, for recording specifyingoperation information and for retrieving and providing search resultsinformation. The object specifying management program is an example ofan information processing program according to the present invention.The various programs may be available from, for example, another serverdevice over the network NW, or may be recorded in a recording medium,such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), and be read via a drive device.The object specifying management program may be a program product.

The input/output interface 13 performs interface processing between thecommunication unit 11 and the storage unit 12, and the system controller14.

The system controller 14 includes, for example, a central processingunit (CPU) 14 a, a read only memory (ROM) 14 b, and a random accessmemory (RAM) 14 c. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing example functionalblocks of the online marketplace server 1 according to this embodiment.The object specifying management program and other programs, which areexecuted by the CPU 14 a, enable the system controller 14 to functionas, for example, a specifying operation information receiver 141, anobject identification unit 142, and an information provider 143, anattribute identification unit 144, and a visibility controller 145. Thespecifying operation information receiver 141 is an example of operationinformation obtaining means of the present invention. The objectidentification unit 142 is an example of object information obtainingmeans and user object information obtaining means of the presentinvention. The information provider 143 is an example of presentationcontrol means of the present invention. The attribute identificationunit 144 is an example of tendency identifying means and attributeidentifying means of the present invention. The visibility controller145 is an example of sending means and identification informationobtaining means of the present invention.

The specifying operation information receiver 141 obtains specifyingoperation information sent from the user terminal 4 to the moving imagedistribution server 1 via the communication unit 11. Based on thespecifying operation information obtained by the specifying operationinformation receiver 141, the object identification unit 142 searchesthe specifying operation information DB 12 a for first objectinformation indicating an object that had been displayed within theretrospective period of time ending at the specifying time and withinthe predetermined distance from the specified position. The objectidentification unit 142 adds the retrieved first object information assecond object information to the specifying operation informationobtained by the specifying operation information receiver 141. Then, theobject identification unit 142 stores the specifying operationinformation in the specifying operation information DB 12 a. Theinformation provider 143 obtains information about items related to eachof the first and second object information included in the specifyingoperation information stored in the specifying operation information DB12 a. Based on the obtained information, the information provider 143generates search results information. Then, the information provider 143sends the search results information to the user terminal 4. By sendingthe search results information, the information provider 143 causes theuser terminal 4 to present a search results screen to a user. Theattribute identification unit 144 identifies an attribute of the objectindicated by the object information included in the specifying operationinformation. Based on the attribute identified by the attributeidentification unit 144, the visibility controller 145 determines towhich user visibility-increasing information is to be displayed. Then,the attribute identification unit 144 sends a visibility-increasinginformation display instruction to the user terminal(s) 4 used by thedetermined user(s). The visibility-increasing information displayinstruction is a message indicating an instruction to display thevisibility-increasing information. The visibility-increasing informationdisplay instruction is an example of information for increasing thevisibility of an object in the present invention. Detailed processes inthese units are described below.

The moving image distribution server 1 may include a plurality of serverdevices. For example, a server device that distributes moving images, aserver device that performs processes for recording specifying operationinformation and for retrieving and providing search results information,a server device that manages databases, and other server devices may beconnected to each other via a LAN or the like.

1-3-2. Configuration of Online Marketplace Server

The online marketplace server 2 includes, for example, a systemcontroller, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The systemcontroller includes, for example, a CPU. The storage unit includes, forexample, hard disk drives. In the storage unit of the online marketplaceserver 2, a genre information DB 2 a, an item information DB 2 b, anoperation history DB 2 c, and other databases are created.

FIG. 7D is a diagram showing example contents stored in the genreinformation DB 2 a. The genre information DB 2 a stores genreinformation about each item genre. Specifically, the genre informationDB 2 a stores, for each genre, attributes of the genre, such as a genreID, a genre name, the level of the genre, a parent genre ID, a childgenre ID list, and attribute information, in association with eachother. The genre information is set, for example, by an administrator ofthe online marketplace.

The item genres are hierarchically defined to have a tree structure.Specifically, each node of the tree structure corresponds to a genre.The depth of a node corresponds to the level (layer) of the genrecorresponding to the node. The depth of a node is the distance from thenode at the root (hereinafter, referred to as “root node”). The largerthe value of the level is, the deeper the depth of the level is. Thesmaller the value of the level is, the shallower the depth of the levelis. Genres corresponding to child nodes that the root node has are Level1 genres. The Level 1 genres are the top level genres. For each of theLevel 1 genres, genres corresponding to its child nodes are defined asLevel 2 genres. Here, a genre C2 corresponding to a child node of agenre C1 is referred to as a child genre of the genre C1. This genre C1is referred to as the parent genre of the genre C2. Child genres are aplurality of subgenres into which a parent genre is further divided andare each a range to which similar items belong. Thus, the child genresbelong to the parent genre. When a genre C3 is a child node of the genreC2, the genre C3 is referred to as a descendant genre of the genre C1.The genre C1 is referred to as an ancestor genre of the genre C1. Thedescendant genre belongs to the ancestor genre.

The genre ID is identification information of a genre defined by thegenre information. The parent genre ID is the genre ID of the parentgenre of the genre defined by the genre information. The child genre IDlist is a list of the child genres of the genre defined by the genreinformation. The child genre ID list is set when the genre defined bythe genre information has child genres. The attribute information isinformation indicating item attributes indicated by the genre defined bythe genre information. The attribute information includes, for eachattribute, a pair of an attribute name and an attribute value. When anattribute value or an attribute value range can be identified from thegenre, the attribute information is stored. For example, smartphoneshave the attribute “screen pixel resolution”. However, no pixelresolution can be identified from the genre “smartphone”. On the otherhand, if a smartphone model is identified from the genre, its pixelresolution can be identified.

FIG. 7E is a diagram showing example contents stored in the iteminformation DB 2 b. The item information DB 2 b stores item information.Specifically, the item information DB 2 b stores, for each item thateach store sells, a store ID, an item ID, a genre ID, an item name, theuniform resource locator(s) (URL(s)) of item image(s), an itemdescription, an item price, and other item attributes in associationwith each other. The item ID is identification information of the itemand is used for the store to manage the item for sale. The store IDindicates a store that sells the item. The genre ID is the genre ID of agenre to which the item belongs.

FIG. 7F is a diagram showing example contents stored in the operationhistory DB 2 c. The operation history DB 2 c stores logs of useroperations in the online marketplace. Specifically, for example, a userID, an operation date and time, and a URL are stored as an operation login the operation history DB 2 c, every time the online marketplaceserver 1 receives a request sent from the user terminal 4 in response toan operation performed by a user. The user ID indicates the user whoperformed the operation. The operation date and time indicates the dateand time at which the operation was performed. The URL is the URL set inthe request sent from the user terminal 4. From the URL set in therequest, the online marketplace server 1 can identify, for example, theoperation performed by the user and the item for which the operation isintended. Examples of the user operation include an operation to view anitem page and an operation to purchase an item.

The online marketplace server 1 can trace a user operation in the movingimage site and in the online marketplace, for example, based on thespecifying operation information DB 12 a, the viewing history DB 12 c,and the operation history DB 2 c. Thus, the online marketplace server 1can identify a trigger for item purchase. When a user views searchresults for an object that another person specified within theretrospective period of time ending at the time at which the userperformed an object specifying operation and then purchases an item inthe online marketplace, the online marketplace server 1 performs aprocess for giving, for example, points to the user who specified theobject.

1-3-3. Configuration of Member Information Management Server

The member information management server 3 includes, for example, asystem controller, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The systemcontroller includes, for example, a CPU. The storage unit includes, forexample, hard disk drives. In the storage unit of the online marketplaceserver 2, a member information DB 3 a is created.

FIG. 7G is a diagram showing example contents stored in the memberinformation DB 3 a. The member information DB 3 a stores the memberinformation of each user who has signed up for the comprehensive site.Specifically, the member information DB 3 a stores, for each user, theuser's user ID, password, nickname, name, birth date, gender, zip code,address, telephone number, e-mail address, the number of the user'spoints, and other user attributes in association with each other. Thenumber of the user's points is the number of points that the user has.

1-4. Operation of Information Processing System

The following describes an operation of the information processingsystem S with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11. For purposes of thisdescription, assume that object information is a keyword indicating anobject name.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example process of a specifyingoperation information reception process in the system controller 14 ofthe moving image distribution server 1 according to this embodiment. Themoving image distribution server 1 starts distributing a moving image,for example, according to a moving image schedule. The specifyingoperation information reception process is started at the start ofdistribution of the moving image. [0075]

As shown in FIG. 8, the specifying operation information receiver 141determines whether specifying operation information has been receivedfrom any user terminal 4 to which the moving image is being distributed(Step S1). Here, if the specifying operation information receiver 141determines that no specifying operation information has been received(NO in Step S1), the process proceeds to Step S15. On the other hand, ifthe specifying operation information receiver 141 determines thatspecifying operation information has been received (YES in Step S1), theprocess proceeds to Step S2. In Step S2, the specifying operationinformation receiver 141 determines whether the received specifyingoperation information includes object information. Here, if thespecifying operation information receiver 141 determines that thespecifying operation information includes no object information (NO inStep S2), the process proceeds to Step S8. On the other hand, if thespecifying operation information receiver 141 determines that thespecifying operation information includes object information (YES inStep S2), the process proceeds to Step S3.

In Step S3, the attribute identification unit 144 identifies anattribute of the object indicated by the object information included inthe received specifying operation information. For example, theattribute identification unit 144 searches the genre information DB 2 afor genre names that match the object information. The attributeidentification unit 144 retrieves the genre IDs corresponding to theretrieved genre names. Subsequently, the attribute identification unit144 searches the specifying operation information DB 12 a for specifyingoperation information including first object information indicating anobject having the same attribute as the identified attribute (Step S4).For example, the attribute identification unit 144 identifies a genre ata preset level from among the genres to which the object indicated bythe object information included in the retrieved specifying operationinformation belongs, based on the genre IDs retrieved in Step S3 and thegenre information DB 2 a. The attribute identification unit 144 alsosearches for specifying operation information including the same movingimage ID as the moving image ID included in the received specifyingoperation information. Then, the attribute identification unit 144extracts, from among the retrieved pieces of specifying operationinformation, specifying operation information including first objectinformation indicating an object belonging to the identified genre. Thegenre determination can be performed, based on the genre IDs included inthe pieces of specifying operation information stored in the specifyingoperation information DB 12 a. The attribute identification unit 144 mayuse attribute information instead of genre IDs.

Subsequently, the visibility controller 145 sends avisibility-increasing information display instruction to the userterminal(s) 4 used by the user(s) identified by the user ID(s) includedin the piece(s) of specifying operation information retrieved in Step 4(Step S5). Specifically, the visibility controller 145 obtains aspecified position from the received specifying operation information.Then, the visibility controller 145 sends a visibility-increasinginformation display instruction including the obtained specifiedposition. Each user terminal 4, which has received thevisibility-increasing information display instruction, obtains thespecified position from the visibility-increasing information displayinstruction. Then, the user terminal 4 displays visibility-increasinginformation at the specified position on the display screen of themoving image for the predetermined duration of time.

Next, the information provider 143 determines whether any items haveever been searched for using the object information included in thereceived specifying operation information (Step S6). Specifically, theinformation provider 143 searches the search results DB 12 b for searchresults information that corresponds to the moving image ID and theobject information included in the received specifying operationinformation. Here, if any corresponding search results information canbe retrieved, the information provider 143 determines that items havebeen searched for before (YES in Step S6). In this case, the informationprovider 143 causes the process to proceed to Step S8. On the otherhand, if no corresponding search results information can be retrieved,the information provider 143 determines that items have never beensearched for (NO in Step S6). In this case, the information provider 143causes the process to proceed to Step S7.

In Step S7, the information provider 143 searches for items, based onthe object information included in the received specifying operationinformation. Specifically, in the same way as described for Step S3, theinformation provider 143 retrieves the genre IDs corresponding to theobject information from the genre information DB 2 a. Subsequently, theinformation provider 143 searches the item information DB 2 b for thepieces of item information of the items belonging to the genresindicated by the retrieved genre IDs. Next, search results informationis generated based on the retrieved pieces of item information. Then,the information provider 143 stores the moving image ID and the objectinformation included in the received specifying operation information,and the generated search results information in association with eachother in the search results DB 12 b. After the information provider 143finishes Step S7, the process proceeds to Step S8. Alternatively, theinformation provider 143 may request the online marketplace server 1 tosearch for the items. Then, the information provider 143 may obtainsearch results information from the online marketplace server 1.Alternatively, the information provider 143 may search for items, forexample, using the object information as a keyword. For example, theinformation provider 143 may search for item information in which theitem name or the item description includes the keyword. The informationprovider 143 may search for the items after distribution of the movingimage.

In Step S8, the object identification unit 142 determines aretrospective period of time, based on the operation method informationincluded in the received specifying operation information (Step S8). Forexample, the object identification unit 142 may calculate theretrospective period of time by multiplying the time or the distanceincluded in the operation method information by a predetermined value.

Subsequently, the object identification unit 142 searches the specifyingoperation information DB 12 a for specifying operation informationincluding a specified position being within the predetermined distancefrom the specified position included in the received specifyingoperation information and including a specifying time being within theretrospective period of time ending at the specifying time included inthe received specifying operation information (Step S9). Then, theobject identification unit 142 determines whether any such objectinformation is found (Step S10). Here, if the object identification unit142 determines that no such object information is found (NO in StepS10), the process proceeds to Step S14. On the other hand, if the objectidentification unit 142 determines that such object information is found(YES in Step S10), the process proceeds to Step S11. In Step S11, theobject identification unit 142 determines whether any of the retrievedpieces of specifying operation information include first objectinformation different from the object information included in thereceived specifying operation information (Step S11). Here, if theobject identification unit 142 determines that no such specifyingoperation information is found (NO in Step S11), the process proceeds toStep S14. On the other hand, if the object identification unit 142determines that such specifying operation information is found (YES inStep S11), the process proceeds to Step S12.

In Step S12, the object identification unit 142 selects one of thepieces of specifying operation information including first objectinformation different from the object information included in thereceived specifying operation information. For example, the objectidentification unit 142 may select specifying operation informationincluding a specifying time closest to the specifying time included inthe received specifying operation information. Subsequently, the objectidentification unit 142 determines the first object information and theuser ID included in the selected specifying operation information assecond object information and an object-providing user ID, respectively.Then, the object identification unit 142 adds the second objectinformation and the object-providing user ID to the received specifyingoperation information (Step S13). After the object identification unit142 finishes Step S13, the process proceeds to Step S14.

In Step S14, the object identification unit 142 stores the receivedspecifying operation information in the specifying operation informationDB 12 a. At this time, the object information included from thebeginning in the received specifying operation information is stored asfirst object information. After the object identification unit 142finishes Step S14, the process proceeds to Step S15. Alternatively, theobject identification unit 142 may store the received specifyingoperation information in the specifying operation information DB 12 awithout modification during distribution of the moving image, and mayperform Steps S8 to S13 to identify an object after distribution of themoving image.

In Step S15, the specifying operation information receiver 141determines whether the distribution of the moving image has ended. Here,if the specifying operation information receiver 141 determines that thedistribution of the moving image has not yet ended (NO in Step S15), theprocess proceeds to Step S1. On the other hand, if the specifyingoperation information receiver 141 determines that the distribution ofthe moving image has ended (YES in Step S15), the specifying operationinformation receiver 141 terminates the specifying operation informationreception process.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example process of a search resultsprovision process in the system controller 14 of the moving imagedistribution server 1 according to this embodiment. The search resultsprovision process is started, for example, at the end of distribution ofthe moving image.

As shown in FIG. 9, the information provider 143 searches the specifyingoperation information DB 12 a for specifying operation informationincluding the moving image ID of the moving image whose distribution hasended. Subsequently, the information provider 143 obtains user IDs fromthe retrieved pieces of specifying operation information. Then, theinformation provider 143 generates a list of the obtained user IDs (StepS21). Next, the information provider 143 selects one user ID from theuser ID list (Step S22). Subsequently, the information provider 143searches the specifying operation information DB 12 a for specifyingoperation information including both the moving image ID of the movingimage whose distribution has ended and the selected user ID (Step S23).Then, the information provider 143 determines the order in which searchresults screens corresponding to the pieces of object informationincluded in the pieces of specifying operation information retrieved inStep S3 are displayed (Step S24). This order is referred to as a displayorder. For example, the information provider 143 may determine thedisplay order in ascending order of the specifying time included in thepieces of specifying operation information. Here, specifying operationinformation may include both first object information and second objectinformation. In this case, the information provider 143 assigns the samerank in the display order to the first object information and the secondobject information. Also, the same object information may be included ina plurality of pieces of specifying operation information. Theinformation provider 143 determines the display order so that searchresults are displayed only once for one object.

Subsequently, the information provider 143 generates a display orderlist (Step S25). Specifically, the information provider 143 generates alist that associates pieces of object information, object types, andranks in the display order with each other. Each object type indicateswhether the corresponding object information is first object informationor second object information. The information provider 143 stores thegenerated list in association with both the moving image ID of themoving image whose distribution has ended and the selected user ID inthe storage unit 12. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing example contents ofthe display list. In the example of FIG. 10, the rank in the displayorder of a search results screen corresponding to first objectinformation indicating an object OB1 is set to 1. The rank in thedisplay order of a search results screen corresponding to first objectinformation indicating an object OB2 and the rank in the display orderof a search results screen corresponding to second object informationindicating an object OB3 are both set to 2. The rank in the displayorder of a search results screen corresponding to first objectinformation indicating an object OB4 is set to 3. In this case, thesearch results screen for the object OB1 is displayed first. Then, thesearch results screen for the object OB2 is displayed. If the searchresults screen for the object OB2 has been displayed for thepredetermined time or more, the search results screen for the object OB4is displayed third. On the other hand, if the search results screen forthe object OB2 has been displayed for less than the predetermined time,the search results screen for the object OB3 is displayed third, and thesearch results screen for the object OB4 is displayed fourth.

Then, the information provider 143 determines whether two pieces ofobject information are both ranked first in the display order, based onthe display order list (Step S26). Here, if the information provider 143determines that only one piece of object information is ranked first inthe display order (NO in Step S26), the process proceeds to Step S27. Onthe other hand, if the information provider 143 determines that twopiece of object information are both ranked first in the display order(YES in Step S26), the process proceeds to Step S28.

In Step S27, the information provider 143 sends the search resultsinformation corresponding to the object information ranked first in thedisplay order to the user terminal 4 used by the user identified by theselected user ID. At this time, the information provider 143 retrieves,from the search results DB 12 b, the search results informationcorresponding to both the object information ranked first in the displayorder and the moving image ID of the moving image whose distribution hasended. After the information provider 143 finishes Step S27, the processproceeds to Step S30.

In Step S28, the information provider 143 sends the search resultsinformation corresponding to the first object information, among the twopieces of object information ranked first in the display order, to theuser terminal 4 used by the user identified by the selected user ID. Thestep of obtaining the search results information is the same as StepS27. Subsequently, the information provider 143 obtains the current dateand time as a sent date and time. Then, the information provider 143stores the obtained sent date and time in association with both themoving image ID of the moving image whose distribution has ended and theselected user ID in the storage unit 12 (Step S29). After theinformation provider 143 finishes Step S29, the process proceeds to StepS30.

In Step S30, the information provider 143 determines whether there areany user IDs that remain to be selected from the user ID list. Here, ifthe information provider 143 determines that some of the user IDs remainto be selected (YES in Step S30), the process proceeds to Step S31. InStep S31, the information provider 143 selects one of the user IDs yetto be selected. Then, the information provider 143 causes the process toproceed to Step S23. On the other hand, if the information provider 143determines that all the user IDs have been selected (NO in Step S30),the information provider 143 terminates the search results provisionprocess. The user terminal 4, which has received the search resultsinformation, displays search results, for example, as shown in FIG. 3,based on the search results information.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example process of a next searchresults provision process in the system controller 14 of the movingimage distribution server 1 according to this embodiment. A user selectsthe button 120 on the search results screen being displayed by the userterminal 4. Then, the user terminal 4 sends a next search resultsrequest to the moving image distribution server 1. The next searchresults request includes a user ID, a moving image ID, objectinformation, and an object type. The user ID indicates the user who madethe request. The moving image ID and the object information respectivelyindicates the moving image and the object corresponding to the searchresults screen being currently displayed. The object type indicateswhether the object information is first object information or secondobject information. The next search results provision process is startedwhen the moving image distribution server 1 receives the next searchresults request.

As shown in FIG. 11, the information provider 143 retrieves, from thestorage unit 12, the display order list and the sent time correspondingto both the user ID and the moving image ID included in the next searchresults request. Subsequently, the information provider 143 determineswhether there is any other object information that has the same rank inthe display order as the object information for which the search resultsscreen has been displayed, based on the display order list and theobject information included in the next search results request (StepS41). Here, if the information provider 143 determines that there is noother such object identification (NO in Step S41), the process proceedsto Step S45. On the other hand, if the information provider 143determines that there is other such object identification (YES in StepS41), the process proceeds to Step S42.

In Step S42, the information provider 143 determines whether the objectinformation for which the search results screen has been displayed isfirst object information. Here, if the information provider 143determines that the object information for which the search resultsscreen has been displayed is not first object information (NO in StepS42), the process proceeds to Step S45. On the other hand, if theinformation provider 143 determines that the object information forwhich the search results screen has been displayed is first objectinformation (YES in Step S42), the process proceeds to Step S43.

In Step S43, the information provider 143 calculates how long aninspection result screen has been displayed, by subtracting the senttime from the current time. Then, the information provider 143determines whether the search results screen has been displayed for lessthan the predetermined time, which was preset. Here, if the informationprovider 143 determines that the search results screen has beendisplayed for the predetermined time or more (NO in Step S43), theprocess proceeds to Step S45. On the other hand, if the informationprovider 143 determines that the search results screen has beendisplayed for less than the predetermined time (YES in Step S43), theprocess proceeds to Step S44.

In Step S44, the information provider 143 sends the search resultsinformation corresponding to the second object information, among thetwo pieces of object information that have the current rank in thedisplay order, to the user terminal 4 that has sent the next searchresults request. After Step S44, the information provider 143 terminatesthe next search results provision process.

In Step S45, the information provider 143 determines whether two piecesof object information both have the next rank in the display order (StepS45). Here, if the information provider 143 determines that only onepiece of object information has the next rank in the display order (NOin Step S45), the process proceeds to Step S46. On the other hand, ifthe information provider 143 determines that two piece of objectinformation both have the next rank in the display order (YES in StepS45), the process proceeds to Step S47.

In Step S46, the information provider 143 sends the search resultsinformation corresponding to the object information that is placed atthe next rank in the display order to the user terminal 4 that has sentthe next search results request. After Step S46, the informationprovider 143 terminates the next search results provision process.

In Step S47, the information provider 143 sends the search resultsinformation corresponding to the first object information, among the twopieces of object information that are placed at the next rank in thedisplay order, to the user terminal 4 that has sent the next searchresults request. Subsequently, the information provider 143 obtains thecurrent date and time as a sent date and time. Then, the informationprovider 143 stores the obtained sent date and time in association withboth the user ID and the moving image ID included in the next searchresults request in the storage unit 12 (Step S48). After Step S48, theinformation provider 143 terminates the next search results provisionprocess. The step of obtaining the search results information in StepsS44, S46, and S47 is the same as Step S27 shown in FIG. 8.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the system controller14 receives specifying operation information including a moving imageID, a specifying time, and a specified position. When an object wasspecified by an object specifying operation, the received specifyingoperation information further includes object information. Subsequently,the system controller 14 retrieves, from the storage unit 12 that storesspecifying operation information for each object specifying operationperformed by a plurality of users, object information corresponding toall of the following: the moving image ID included in the receivedspecifying operation information; a specifying time being within aretrospective period of time ending at the specifying time included inthe received specifying operation information; and a specified positionbeing within a predetermined distance from the specified positionincluded in the received specifying operation information. Then, thesystem controller 14 causes a search results screen for an objectindicated by at least one piece of information selected from among theobject information included in the received specifying operationinformation and the retrieved object information to be presented to auser who performed the object specifying operation. Thus, informationabout an object can be provided even after the object has disappearedfrom a screen.

When the received specifying operation information includes objectinformation and object information is retrieved from the storage unit12, the system controller 14 causes a search results screen for anobject indicated by either one of these pieces of object information tobe displayed. If the display specifying time of the displayedinformation is less than a predetermined time, the system controller 14causes a search results screen for an object indicated by the other tobe displayed. Thus, when search results screen for an object that a userintended to specify is displayed first, search results screen for anobject that the user did not intend to specify can be prevented frombeing displayed. Consequently, unnecessary information can be preventedfrom being displayed.

The system controller 14 also sends a visibility-increasing informationdisplay instruction for an object indicated by the object informationincluded in the received specifying operation information to the userterminal 4. This can make the object more likely to be noticed.Accordingly, the user can more easily specify the object.

In addition, the system controller 14 identifies an attribute of theobject indicated by the object information included in the receivedspecifying operation information. The system controller 14 alsoretrieves, from the storage unit 12, user ID(s) corresponding to objectinformation indicating an object having the identified attribute. Then,the system controller 14 sends a visibility-increasing informationdisplay instruction to the user terminal(s) 4 used by the user(s)identified by the retrieved user ID(s). Consequently, only an objectthat is likely to interest a user can become more visible.

The system controller 14 also determines the retrospective period oftime, based on method information included in the received specifyingoperation information. This can increase the probability that an objectthat the user intended to specify can be identified correctly.

2. SECOND EMBODIMENT

The following describes a second embodiment with reference to FIG. 12.In this embodiment, the moving image distribution server 1 controlspresentation of search results screens, based on what object a usertends to specify during playback of a moving image. Specifically, themoving image distribution server 1 may cause a search results screen foran object whose degree of match with what object the user tends tospecify is less than a predetermined value, among the specified oridentified objects, not to be presented. Alternatively, the moving imagedistribution server 1 may cause search results screens for objects to bedisplayed in descending order of degree of match with what object theuser tends to specify.

For example, what object the user tends to specify can be identifiedbased on an attribute of the specified or identified objects. Forexample, the moving image distribution server 1 identifies a relativelydominant attribute. For example, the moving image distribution server 1may identify an attribute whose proportion to total is greatest or isgreater than or equal to a predetermined reference value. The user tendsto specify an object having the identified attribute. The moving imagedistribution server 1 identifies the degree of match between theidentified attribute and the attribute of the specified or identifiedobject. For example, when using genre, the moving image distributionserver 1 identifies which level of genre includes both an object genrethat the user tends to specify and a genre of the specified oridentified object. The deeper the level identified at this time is, thehigher the degree of match is. The reference value in this case is alevel. For example, when using an attribute expressed numerically, themoving image distribution server 1 calculates the difference between theattribute value of an object that the user tends to specify and theattribute value of the specified or identified object. The smaller thedifference in the attribute value is, the higher the degree of match is.The reference value in this case is the magnitude of a difference.

When any other attributes than genre can also be identified, the movingimage distribution server 1 may cause search results screens for objectshaving a more advantageous attribute for the user in terms oftransaction to be preferentially displayed. For example, the movingimage distribution server 1 may cause search results screens for objectsto be displayed in ascending order of object price. Alternatively, forexample, the moving image distribution server 1 may cause search resultsscreens for objects to be displayed in descending order of objectperformance.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example process of the search resultsprovision process in the system controller 14 of the moving imagedistribution server 1 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 12, the samecomponents as those shown in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same referencesigns. The following describes an example where genre is used as theattribute.

As shown in FIG. 12, Steps S21 to S23 are performed first. Then, theattribute identification unit 144 identifies the genres of the objectsindicated by the pieces of first and second object information includedin the retrieved pieces of specifying operation information (Step S51).Specifically, the attribute identification unit 144 retrieves the genreIDs in the same way as Step S3 of the specifying operation informationreception process. Subsequently, the information provider 143 identifieswhat object genre the user tends to specify, based on the retrievedgenre IDs (Step S52). For example, the information provider 143calculates the proportion of each genre in the total number of thepieces of first and second object information included in the retrievedpieces of specifying operation information. Then, the informationprovider 143 identifies a genre whose proportion is greater than orequal to a predetermined value.

Next, the moving image distribution server 143 extracts objects whosedegree of match between an object genre that the user tends to specifyand a genre of the specified or identified object (Step S53).Specifically, based on the genre information DB 2 a, the informationprovider 143 identifies what genre includes both an object genre thatthe user tends to specify and a genre of each of the objects indicatedby the pieces of object information included in the pieces of specifyingoperation information. If the information provider 143 can identify nogenre including both, the degree of match is less than the referencevalue. If the information provider 143 can identify a genre includingboth can be identified, the information provider 143 retrieves the levelof the identified genre from the genre information DB 2 a. Then, theinformation provider 143 extracts objects whose retrieved level isgreater than or equal to a level preset as the reference value.

Subsequently, the information provider 143 determines that a displayorder in which search results screens for the extracted objects, whichcorrespond to the object information, are displayed is the descendingorder of degree of match with an object genre that the user tends tospecify (Step S54). When any other attributes than genre can also beidentified for each object, the information provider 143 may causesearch results screens for objects having a more advantageous attributefor the user to be preferentially displayed. Alternatively, theinformation provider 143 may determine the display order based on boththe degree of match in genre and the advantageous attribute for theuser. For example, the information provider 143 may determine the entiredisplay order based on the degree of match in genre. When a plurality ofobjects have the same degree of match in genre, the information provider143 may then cause objects having a more advantageous attribute for theuser, among these plurality of objects, to be preferentially displayed.

After that, the information provider 143 generates a list thatassociates pieces of object information and ranks in the display orderwith each other (Step S55). Then, the information provider 143 sends thesearch results information corresponding to the object informationranked first in the display order to the user terminal 4 used by theuser identified by the selected user ID. Subsequently, Steps S30 and S31are performed.

The next search results provision process shown in FIG. 11 may beperformed when the moving image distribution server 1 receives the nextsearch results request. This process can present search results screensin the display order determined in the search results provision process.The first and second embodiments may be performed together.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the system controller14 retrieves pieces of object information corresponding to the user IDincluded in the received specifying operation information from thestorage unit 12. The system controller 14 also identifies what objecttends to be specified, based on the retrieved pieces of objectinformation. Then, the system controller 14 controls presentation ofsearch results screens for objects, based on the identified tendency.Thus, a search results screen for an object that interests a user can beprovided.

The system controller 14 also causes a search results screen for anobject whose degree of match with the identified tendency is less than apredetermined value not to be presented. Thus, only a search resultsscreen for an object that is likely to interest a user can be provided.

The system controller 14 also causes search results screens for objectsto be presented in descending order of degree of match with theidentified tendency. Thus, a search results screen for an object that islikely to interest a user can be preferentially provided.

In the above embodiments, information about an object is presented afterdistribution of a moving image. However, the information about theobject may be presented when a user performs an object specifyingoperation during distribution of the moving image.

In the above embodiments, item information is presented as informationabout an object. However, information different from item informationmay be presented. For example, service information, a web page, animage, a sound, a document, news, or a blog may be presented. In theabove embodiments, information about an object is searched for. However,for example, information pre-associated with object information may bepresented.

In the above embodiments, an information processing apparatus accordingto the present invention is a server device that distributes movingimages. However, the information processing apparatus according to thepresent invention need not have the function of distributing movingimages, and instead a device different from the information processingapparatus according to the present invention may distribute the movingimages.

In the above embodiments, the present invention is applied todistribution of moving images. However, the present invention may beapplied to, for example, TV broadcasting.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 moving image distribution server-   2 online marketplace server 1-   3 member information management server-   4 user terminal-   11 communication unit-   12 storage unit-   12 a specifying operation information DB-   12 b search results DB-   12 c viewing history DB-   13 input/output interface-   14 system controller-   14 a CPU-   14 b ROM-   14 c RAM-   15 system bus-   141 specifying operation information receiver-   142 object identification unit-   143 information provider-   144 attribute identification unit-   145 visibility controller-   2 a genre information DB-   2 b item information DB-   2 c operation history DB-   1 a member information DB-   NW network-   S information processing system

1. An information processing apparatus comprising: at least one memoryconfigured to store computer program code; at least one processorconfigured to access said memory and operate as instructed by saidcomputer program code, said computer program code including: operationinformation obtaining code configured to cause at least one of said atleast one processor to obtain first moving image identificationinformation identifying a moving image unavailable for an operation tomove a playback position backward in time, a first time at which aspecifying operation to specify a first position on a display unit wasperformed by a first user of a plurality of users to specify an objectcontained in the moving image displayed on the display unit, and thespecified first position, and to further obtain first object informationindicating the object when the object was specified by the specifyingoperation; object information obtaining code configured to cause atleast one of said at least one processor to obtain, from a storage thatstores second moving image identification information identifying amoving image unavailable for an operation to move a playback positionbackward in time, a second time at which a specifying operation tospecify a second position on a display unit was performed by a user tospecify an object contained in the moving image displayed on the displayunit, the specified second position, and second object informationindicating the specified object in association with each other for eachspecifying operation performed by each of the plurality of users, secondobject information corresponding to all of i) a second moving imageidentification information identical with the obtained first movingimage identification information, ii) a second time being within apredetermined period of time ending at the obtained first time, and iii)a second position being within a predetermined distance from theobtained first position; and presentation control code configured tocause at least one of said at least one processor to cause informationabout an object indicated by at least one of the obtained first objectinformation and the obtained second object information to be presentedto the first user.
 2. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the operation information obtaining code causes atleast one of said at least one processor to further obtain first useridentification information identifying the first user, the storagestores the second moving image identification information, the secondtime, the second position, the second object information, and seconduser identification information identifying the user who performed thespecifying operation in association with each other, the informationprocessing apparatus further comprises: user object informationobtaining code configured to cause at least one of said at least oneprocessor to obtain, from the storage, second object informationcorresponding to second user identification information identical withthe obtained first user identification information; and tendencyidentifying code configured to cause at least one of said at least oneprocessor to identify what object the first user tends to specify, basedon the second object information obtained, and the presentation controlcode causes at least one of said at least one processor to controlpresentation of the information about the object, based on theidentified tendency.
 3. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein the presentation control code causes at least one ofsaid at least one processor to cause the information about the objectwhose degree of match with the identified tendency is less than apredetermined value not to be presented.
 4. The information processingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein every time the first userperforms the specifying operation, the operation information obtainingcode causes at least one of said at least one processor to obtain atleast the first moving image identification information, the first timeand the first position of the first moving image identificationinformation, the first time, the first position and the first objectinformation, and the object information obtaining code causes at leastone of said at least one processor to obtain the second objectinformation, and the presentation control code causes at least one ofsaid at least one processor to cause information about objects eachidentified by the obtained first or second object information to bepresented in descending order of degree of match with the identifiedtendency.
 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein, when both of the fist object information and the second objectinformation are obtained, the presentation control code causes at leastone of said at least one processor to cause information about an objectidentified by any one of the obtained first and second objectinformation to be presented, and if the presented information has beenpresented for less than a predetermined time, the presentation controlcode causes at least one of said at least one processor to causeinformation about an object identified by another one of the obtainedfirst and second object information to be presented.
 6. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising sendingcode configured to cause at least one of said at least one processor tosend, to a terminal device that is used by any second user, other thanthe first user, of the plurality of users and display the moving imageidentified by second moving image identification information identicalwith the obtained first moving image identification information,information for increasing a visibility, on a display unit, of theobject indicated by the obtained first object information.
 7. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein thestorage stores the second moving image identification information, thesecond time the second position, the second object information, andsecond user identification information identifying the user whoperformed the specifying operation in association with each other, theinformation processing apparatus further comprising: attributeidentifying code configured to cause at least one of said at least oneprocessor to identify an attribute of the object indicated by theobtained first object information: and identification informationobtaining code configured to cause at least one of said at least oneprocessor to obtain, from the storage, second user identificationinformation corresponding to second object information indicating anobject having the identified attribute, wherein the sending code causesat least one of said at least one processor to send the information forincreasing the visibility to a terminal device used by a second useridentified by the obtained second user identification information. 8.The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theoperation information obtaining code causes at least one of said atleast one processor to further obtain method information indicating howthe specifying operation was performed, and the object informationobtaining code causes at least one of said at least one processor todetermine a length of the period of time, based on the obtained methodinformation.
 9. An information processing method performed by acomputer, the method comprising: obtaining first moving imageidentification information identifying a moving image unavailable for anoperation to move a playback position backward in time, a first time atwhich a specifying operation to specify a first position on a displayunit was performed to specify an object contained in the moving imagedisplayed on the display unit, and the specified first position, and forfurther obtaining first object information indicating the object whenthe object was specified by the specifying operation; obtaining, from astorage that stores second moving image identification informationidentifying a moving image unavailable for an operation to move aplayback position backward in time, a second time at which a specifyingoperation to specify a second position on a display unit was performedby a user to specify an object contained in the moving image displayedon the display unit, the specified second position, and second objectinformation in association with each other for each specifying operationperformed by each of the plurality of users, second object informationcorresponding to all of i) a second moving image identificationinformation identical with the obtained first moving imageidentification information, ii) a second time being within apredetermined period of time ending at the obtained first time, and iii)a second position being within a predetermined distance from theobtained first position; and causing information about an objectindicated by at least one of the obtained first object information andthe obtained second object information to be presented to the firstuser.
 10. (canceled)